How local is local?

This column tries to focus on “local” as
part of the sustainability ethos, where we minimize our ecological
footprint while strengthening our social fabric and sharing our economic
prosperity.

In my recent efforts to help local
enterprises make more sustainable decisions for their organizations, I
admit to an ongoing frustration with determining where things are made.
In one of my earlier articles on toilet paper I noted the difficulty of
identifying which specific products and brands are actually produced at
the approximately 20 paper/pulp mills in Michigan. There is no easy
source of information on this. The “Buy Michigan” efforts are almost
entirely built around foods grown or processed here but very little on
the hardware we use every day. If, as some development folks suggest,
our state’s economy needs to rely on manufacturing, why is there such a
vacuum of information on what is actually made here? One hunch I have is
that the push for companies to be global encourages them to camouflage
where they really make their products. We certainly see lobbyists for
global concerns fighting every effort to share this information with
consumers. It could also be
that companies that run paper mills, for example, make similar (if not
identical) products under different brand names.

So consumers who want to support local
manufacturers, if for no other reason than the reduced transportation
costs (environmental and economic) that would benefit all but the
transport companies, can’t find out where our stuff is actually made.
How much of the Meijer brand stuff is made here in Michigan, let alone
in the U.S.? We’ll never know, as the packaging only tells us it was
”distributed” by Meijer, not where it was made. Manufacturers and the
state and local economic development teams need to do a better job of
getting that information to the marketplace. Markets only work well when
there is accurate and full information available.

In looking through the Michigan
Manufacturers Directory recently to assist a client in purchasing
locally made food containers, I noted that we have at least one paper
mill (Dunn Paper) that produces sandwich
wraps and food service papers for use with baked goods, breads, and
coffee. Another —Manistique Papers — uses 100 percent post-consumer
recycled paper and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)-certified pulp
to make food service takeout bags. Can any of our local food service
operations buy these Michigan-made products for use when they sell to
us? Do they even know they have a choice?

The ”local first” movement is asking the
question. Let’s help Main Street first, not Wall Street or some
Caribbean tax havens. Having decisions made closest to the point of
impact increases the likelihood that local concerns are addressed. We
all know stories of companies where a new CEO comes in, cuts all the
less profitable divisions (determined by how much profit one desires to
make as opposed to how much one needs to stay sustainable), and then
receives a bonus while workers and employees in those places lose
economic security. Nonprofits are not exempt from this distancing of
decision making. National nonprofits too often make decisions without
considering the impact on local communities, as they are more about
sustaining their operation than the places in which they are situated.

Grassroots, locally owned, placed-based
entities (profit or non-profit or in between) are more likely in it for
the long run, committed to the places the owners live in. We see this in
our area’s very active neighborhood associations. We see it in the
Greater Lansing Food Bank, in our Capital Region Community Foundation,
the Lansing Board of Water and Light, and in school PTAs. The commitment
to the local benefits us all.

Local economic development, particularly
as it pertains to the basics we all need for life — food, water,
shelter, energy, and health care _ is the approach that is most
sustainable. Supporting those locally based enterprises that are
committed to building a stronger and more prosperous community for all —
owners, employees, customers, neighbors, and citizens — is the wise
choice. Recently I attended the national conference for the Business
Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) in Grand Rapids. I hope to
report back in the coming weeks about how other communities are growing
their economy, sharing the prosperity, strengthening their communities,
and preserving the places they call home. Film at 11.